1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to insulation for pipes. Advantageously, the pipe insulation described herein can insulate pipes having different surface temperatures although each pipe jacket will have the same wall thickness.
Thermal insulation is an important and valuable product. Although many insulative products are already in use, there is a continuing desire for energy conservation pushing a drive to achieve better insulation having more advantages.
Presently, with pipe insulation, pipe jackets are used to cover the pipes. Since pipes have different temperatures, different insulating jackets are needed. Hotter pipes require more of the insulating material. This necessitates larger pieces of insulation. Larger jackets are, therefore, used for the hotter pipes.
The larger pipe jackets take up more of the limited inventory space, and more product space is needed to store the pipe jackets, especially on the job site. In addition to this, the different sizes of pipe jackets necessitate that different sizes of pipe accessories be stocked (one size for each different size of jacket).
Advantageously, the pipe jacketing described herein provides a uniform outer diameter for the different jackets in spite of the different surface temperatures of the pipes to be covered. Less space is needed to store the insulation. Furthermore, since the jackets have a uniform size, there is the further advantage of requiring only one size in each accessory (cladding, pipe hangers, saddles, butt straps, etc).
2. Brief Description
A pipe insulating system comprises at least two different types of pipe insulation, wherein each pipe insulation is a pipe jacket formed by two mating sections, a first section and a second section with each section having a mating surface, wherein further when the two mating sections are put together with the mating surface of the first section exactly abutting the mating surface of the second section, they form a tubular structure having a bore which is a suitable size to receive a pipe.
There are three possible types of pipe insulation available. These are insulation A, insulation B, and insulation C. Each pipe insulation type is formulated to insulate pipes having a different surface temperature, and yet pipe insulations A, B, and C each have identical outer diameters. Insulation B is formulated to insulate pipes having a surface temperature up to about 230xc2x0 C., insulation A is formulated to insulate pipes having surface temperatures up to about 175xc2x0 C., and insulation C is formulated to insulate pipes having a surface temperature up to about 350xc2x0 C., wherein further, the lengths of insulation A, B and C have identical outer diameters.
In some embodiments, the pipe jacket will have more than one layer in the jacket. For example, in the insulation jackets for pipes having surface temperatures of up to about 230xc2x0 C. and up to about 350xc2x0 C. more preferably each have at least two layers.
The layers are concentric rings which are centered around the bore of the jacket. The inner layers (both intermediate and core layers) always have a thermal conductivity which, at the temperatures to be insulated, is lower than or equal to the thermal conductivity of the material in the outer layers of the jacket. Preferably, the core layer will have the lowest thermal conductivity at the temperatures to be insulated than the material in any other outer layer or layers. For the hotter pipes preferably a thicker core layer is used, or more efficient insulation can be used in the inner layer or layers. A more efficient insulation for the appropriate temperature gradient allows the inner layer to be thinner and yet still insulate the hotter pipe. For the cooler pipes having temperatures up to about 175xc2x0 C., the jacket is most preferably in a single layer.
The jackets are formulated for pipes having different temperatures by using one or more of the following options: 1) different types of insulative materials or 2) more effective amounts of insulative material inside. For two and three-layer jackets, each inner layer will always be at least as efficient as the outer layers. Preferably they are more efficient and thus have a lower thermal conductivity at the temperatures to be insulated than does the outer layers. The inner-most layer(s), thus, are preferably more effective insulators. The inner layers are always capable of withstanding operational temperatures.
Using multiple layers and more efficient insulation to achieve sufficient insulation at higher temperatures does away with the need to use a thicker layer to achieve the same result.